Every year, nearly 100,000 people resign their membership in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, voluntarily asking for their names to be
taken off the records of the Church. Many, if not most, of these ex-Mormons
leave because specific intellectual or spiritual reasons have led them to a
conviction that the Church is false. One of the most common reasons for leaving
is disbelief in Joseph Smith as a prophet.[1]
For various reasons, these people have lost, or never fully gained, a testimony
of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith. Closely related to this issue are the
concerns which some members and ex-members of the Church have concerning his
successors. When asked specifically why they no longer believe that Joseph
Smith or his successors are Prophets of God, many respond by listing the
various mistakes and errors of both Joseph Smith and later presidents of the
Church. I will seek to examine these issues and their implications both by
looking at a few examples and also by grappling with the question of what it
means to be a Prophet, and especially what being a Prophet does not mean. Hopefully, I will be able to
address some of these issues and concerns which many, many people experience
and explain why they need not necessarily lead to a conclusion that the Church
is not what it claims to be. I cannot give anyone a testimony that Joseph Smith
was a Prophet, or that Thomas S Monson is a Prophet today. That can only come
through the Holy Ghost, by the will of God, in answer to earnest and sincere
prayer, meditation and reflection. However, if there is anybody who has
received a spiritual witness, but still has intellectual concerns and
questions, I may be able to address and help with some of them.
The Church does not teach that Prophets are infallible. Most members of
the Church understand this, and yet it is not something which we commonly
discuss as Church members, for various reasons. However, the fact remains:
leaders of the Church can, and often do, make mistakes. And sometimes, these mistakes
can be very bad. Often they are only mild errors, but sometimes they can be
very grave and serious sins. The Church acknowledges this. In fact, we cannot
escape it, or ignore it, even if we wanted to. We are confronted with it every
time we open the scriptures or take a close look at Church history. Noah was
one of the greatest patriarchs of the Old Testament, and following the Flood,
he was the spiritual leader of the entire human race up until his death. Yet
despite being in this position of such great authority and responsibility, the
Bible records that Noah “drank of...wine, and was drunken, and he was uncovered
within his tent.” (Genesis 9:21) It should be clear that this is not acceptable
behaviour for anybody, let alone a Prophet of God. Yet this does not change the
fact that Noah was a great Prophet, who declared God’s words to the world and
led his family and descendants to safety even while the rest of the world was
destroyed. Similarly, Peter famously denied knowing the Saviour three times and
cut off a centurion’s ear in a fit of anger (see John 18). Yet Christ promised
him the keys of the kingdom and he was the Lord’s closest confidante during His
mortal ministry and the leader of the Church after Christ’s ascension.
There
are many other examples in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon of Prophets
who make mistakes, including sometimes committing serious sins. Yet God still
speaks with them and uses them as His messengers, and they are still His
mouthpiece upon the earth. If anybody feels that Joseph Smith could not
possibly be a Prophet because he sometimes did things which were
unconventional, inappropriate, insensitive, rude, or just plain morally wrong, my answer would be: yes. He did.
Often, in fact. He had a flawed personality. In fact, if you read the Doctrine
and Covenants, you don’t have to look very hard to find many cases where the
Lord rebukes Joseph for one sin or another. For example, in D&C 93:47, the
Lord says: “I say unto Joseph Smith, Jun. – You have not kept the commandments,
and must needs stand rebuked before the Lord.” This is just one of many, many
instances all throughout the Doctrine and Covenants where God rebukes Joseph
Smith for his sins and misdeeds. Prophets are not perfect. Thankfully, they do
not have to be, or we would all be left without guidance or hope. But they are
still Prophets, and God still speaks to them.
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